John+Miller+LMF

//Learning Motivation and Fun//


Five generalizations

 * 1).** **Using humor to teach academic content makes for a memorable learning experience. (18 videos)**

Providing learners with an engaging lesson, delivered with a certain amount of humor can aid content retention. Anna mentioned how sense of humor used by a world history teacher in high school made learning a richer and deeper experience. Tina felt that the dry, relaxed sense of humor used by an instructor in an SDSU language course made her feel more relaxed and comfortable in the classroom. Sam also mentioned how the instructor's warm, and personable attitude made taking a philosophy class in college more understandable and relatable. An interactive experience at a summer institute for history teachers enabled Kelly to connect with friends through an instructor that was confident with the content. His fun personality made for a very comfortable environment in which to learn. Jodi also especially enjoyed a staff development session led by a teacher that demonstrated "outrageous" teaching devices for learning.


 * 2).** **Being recognized by your peers in a group setting has a positive effect on learning. (12 videos)**

Challenging yourself to do something new in front of an audience can drive self reflection and understanding. Justin describes an experience where he had to perform as an actor as part of an application for graduate school. He needed to stay in character as the instructor changed scenarios on him. Although that was an engaging challenge, it wasn't until the rest of the students in the audience began to present challenging situations that he experienced a deeper understanding of the acting process. Fernando also commented on a similar experience taking an acting class at SDSU where he was forced to project his character to an audience despite some anxiety. He felt the experience was a tremendous boost to his self confidence. Minh Tam enjoyed an elementary teaching lesson in physical education in which the group of educators were asked to physically form numbers and letters of the alphabet using their bodies. Being part of a group that performed well was socially rewarding. Being in a sign language course where the instructor didn't speak a word from day one on, made Wendy feel uncomfortable at first, but being asked to step outside of the box with her classmates combined with a strong cultural connection made for an enjoyable experience.

 Creating an atmosphere where competition can occur in a safe environment proves enriching. An educational relay race at a Boy Scout gathering helped Dan understand the value of teamwork. As groups of scouts rotated through a series of stations they were asked to perform skill or knowledge challenges. Dan felt that this enabled deeper understanding of the many content areas. Marie had a similar experience at a 6th grade summer camp where she was working in a group that were asked to identify plant types. The ensuing scavenger hunt competition made real world connections. Torey had fun creating a model vehicle during a physics competition. She details how her group spent a lot of time researching and experimenting on design ideas and how the learning process was enhanced, but not enveloped by the competition. James enjoyed competing with another staff member in a school office setting to find and interpret data. He identified problem solving and competition as key elements in his experience.
 * 3). Competition to do your best amongst a group of similar individuals can improve retention. (32 videos)**

 When asked to understand highly conceptual concepts, challenging learners to perform is beneficial. The abstraction of dance made more sense to Arvick after performing it. She describes how she enjoys the movement, vibrations, and participatory nature of dance. For her, the enjoyment and understanding comes from the performance. Performance also played a role in Asu's experience learning English. Diving into regular classroom group and individual performances of the weekly English language lessons made learning engaging in a very natural way. Karen was able to understand the abstract nature of scale in the solar system through a staff development opportunity where teachers used play-doh to model the size of the Earth and the Moon. Jay explained how a culminating assignment in a college level class on evolution helped him have a much deeper understanding of the intricacy of the process. He was humbled by the lesson design and how it forced him to ask why evolution works the way it does.
 * 4). Abstract concepts are made more understandable if the learning is tangible. (6 videos)**

 Understanding the often cooperative nature of learning is demonstrated by four adult experiences. As a grad student in astronomy, Loic was surprised by an offer for an all expense paid trip to Chile to work with a professor. He was given instruction on how to operate the telescope one night and found himself alone with a Chilean technician for the next twelve nights. He quickly had to learn some Spanish to communicate and make the critical judgments necessary to complete the observation run. Asuman found that after practicing English in a class and then being placed in a group with other students at a tourist spot in Turkey was a tremendous learning experience. Each group had to interview tourist to practice their new English skills. A trip to see technology only talked about in class was a memorable learning exercise for Utpal. Studying electrical engineering in a classroom is one thing, but taking a field trip to a power station and learning the process in such a practical and interactive way was enjoyable. Asked to learn songs in a foreign language for a choir tour made Krista understand another culture and herself better. Singing in a different language - both French and ASL made a strong cultural connection.
 * 5). Challenging material can be better understood if presented in a cooperative learning environment. (29 videos)**


 * Conclusions**

Teaching with humor is a great way to get a class to feel comfortable. Care must be taken, however, to avoid being sarcastic with students. Promoting positive behavior and being recognized for work done well can enhance any class. Competitive elements can also be successfully introduced to charge a lesson, but with younger students it can be a distraction. Using visualization and realia to teach abstract concepts is an excellent idea. As a science teacher, I would be hard pressed to teach chemistry without doing experiments. Using cooperative groupings to better distribute challenging material is also a good idea. I am also an AVID teacher and I see tremendous success when students collaborate when trying to solve difficult math problems during tutorial time.